Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Prime Minister sent the premier of B.C. home empty-handed with no agreement to reduce the $1.6 billion payback on the hated HST. That is money that will have to come from health and education B.C. families rely on. There was no recognition of two years of HST revenue already collected and no agreement to fast track the dismantling of the HST British Columbians voted against.

Why is “no” the only word B.C. families ever hear from the Ottawa Conservatives? The HST was a Conservative mistake. Why is the Prime Minister making B.C. families pay for it?

Mr. Speaker, as we have said all along, provincial taxation is a provincial responsibility. The Government of British Columbia decided to enter into an agreement with the Government of Canada in order to harmonize its provincial sales tax with the GST. Subsequently there was a change of mind.

In the meantime, pursuant to the terms of the agreement, a certain sum had been provided by the federal government to the provincial government. Since the agreement is not proceeding, that sum needs to be returned and the B.C. government has acknowledged the accuracy of that.

Mr. Speaker, I was in the House on December 9, 2009, when the Prime Minister and the Ottawa Conservatives voted to impose the HST on British Columbians. They are the ones who are responsible.

When we talk about B.C. government ministers, they are saying that they could move faster to remove the hated HST if they would get co-operation from the federal government. The Conservative government is not co-operating. The government has no transition plan and is stalling. It is taking nearly twice as long to remove the HST than it took to bring it in in the first place.

Why are Conservatives refusing to take their hated HST off? Why will they not listen to B.C. families? Where is the transition plan?

Mr. Speaker, what total nonsense. There is a member of the House of Commons who stands and says that the federal government, the federal Parliament, voted to impose something on a provincial government that is solely a matter of provincial responsibility. Have you never read the BNA Act? Have you never looked at the Canadian—

Mr. Speaker, it would have taken the Minister of National Defence just two hours to leave his fishing resort in Gander, but that was too long for him. So he monopolized a search and rescue helicopter and military staff for his personal use. That cannot be justified. That is why the Canadian Forces were opposed to the airlift.

When will the minister confirm that he fabricated the whole story about participating in a military exercise in order to get out of this mess?

Mr. Speaker, I will ignore the hyperbole and the hyperventilating. I have said before that I was leaving personal time to go back to work early and before doing so, took part in a search and rescue exercise that we had been trying to arrange for some time.

Mr. Speaker, on September 26, the Minister of National Defence told the House, “I took part in a previously planned search and rescue demonstration”. Documents released today contradict this. There is no mention of the minister wanting to see search and rescue crews at work. In fact, the documents say, “this mission will be under the guise of…SAR (training)”. Why did the minister mislead this House?

Mr. Speaker, as I just said, and as I have said before in the House a number of times, I took part in a search and rescue demonstration. That in fact happened. It has been confirmed by Brigadier-General Bédard who stated:

—the mutual gain was realized in the sense that we had been looking to showcase the Cormorant’s abilities and the search and rescue capabilities of the Canadian Forces to the minister.

Mr. Speaker, the government continues to show gross and unrelenting incompetence when it comes to providing our forces with the equipment they need.

In 2006 the government started the process of replacing rusting transport trucks. Yesterday we started all over again, six years behind schedule. Seven years ago the federal government announced the contract to purchase 28 maritime helicopters. The first of these was due over three years ago. We have yet to receive it.

When will we see some accountability in the government's military procurement program?

Mr. Speaker, if I may with respect to the member, he ought not to be reading his own headlines. We have created the process by which we are creating all the due diligence. We are ensuring that the process is transparent, fair and available to the industry. We are providing our men and women with the tools they need to do their job effectively and to the best ability for the taxpayers of the country as well.

Mr. Speaker, if the minister is going to start using quotes about search and rescue, then let us take a look at this one, which was uncovered by the Toronto Star. It states:

If we are tasked to do this we of course will comply...Given the potential for negative press though, I would likely recommend against it.

That was about the flight, but yet he did it anyway. The next day is when they said that it would be under the guise of a training mission of some sort. Not only that, but they also said that the landing area was too small, but political staff said that it was not too small because he—

Mr. Speaker, during committee deliberations on Bill C-10, I introduced a series of amendments to the important justice for victims of terrorism act, but these amendments were regrettably rejected by the Conservative majority on committee. The government then tabled the same amendments at report stage in the House, which the Speaker rightfully ruled out of order.

Now that we agree that these amendments are warranted and that they should never have been rejected in the first place, what will the government now do to see that these desirable amendments are in fact implemented?

Mr. Speaker, today being World Aids Day we have good news and bad news.

The goods news is researchers state that beating AIDS globally can be done with today's science, that it is just a matter of funding. The bad news is the international global fund for fighting AIDS, TB and malaria is hitting a funding wall. It has effectively frozen all new spending for the next three years. The global fund states that Canada owes it $180 million for this year and it has yet to receive a penny.

With only one month left, will the Prime Minister send a cheque to the global fund to fight AIDS?

Colin CarrieConservativeParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health

Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the work our government has accomplished in helping combat HIV and AIDS not only in Canada, but also in the developing world.

For example, today our government announced that we are investing $70 million for five new research projects to accelerate the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine. Also, the Canadian HIV vaccine initiative led by our government, along with the Melinda Gates Foundation, highlights Canada's world-class HIV and vaccine research expertise. This initiative will help advance the science for the development of a safe and effective HIV vaccine.

Mr. Speaker, the government is dragging its feed on funding for community organizations through the federal initiative to address HIV/AIDS in Canada. Organizations had to wait months before applying for funding and a number of them may now have to close their doors because of the delays. Today, we are still in the dark about the Conservatives' proposed new funding formula.

On this World AIDS Day, will the government finally announce the funding criteria and provide an explanation for the delays?